Correction: Five Dead-Texas story

AP , Associated Press

Sep. 24, 201310:42 AM ET

CORSICANA, Texas (AP) — In a Sept. 23 story about the deaths of a Texas couple and their three children, The Associated Press erroneously reported the age of one of the children. Their ages were 4, 8 and 10, not 4, 8 and 12.

A corrected version of the story is below:

Sheriff: Parents, 3 kids found dead in North Texas

Couple, 3 children found shot dead at North Texas home; sheriff investigates as murder-suicide

By NOMAAN MERCHANT

Associated Press

CORSICANA, Texas (AP) — A couple and their three children were found shot dead in their North Texas home in what authorities believe was a murder-suicide, a sheriff said Monday.

Authorities have yet to determine who fired the shots, though the children's father was arrested less than two weeks ago on a family violence charge.

The father of Israel Alvarez, 33, called 911 on Sunday night after discovering the bodies of his son, 33-year-old daughter-in-law Guadalupe Ronquillo-Ovalle and their children with gunshot wounds to their torsos, Navarro County Sheriff Elmer Tanner said. He said a rifle was found at the home on the outskirts of Rice, about 40 miles southeast of Dallas. Autopsies have been ordered.

Investigators were trying to determine when the shootings took place, Tanner said, saying the children, ages 4, 8 and 10, were in school Thursday afternoon but missed classes Friday.

Judith Pritchett, superintendent of the Rice Independent School District, said in a statement that the district was providing counselors for students and staff.

Alvarez was arrested Sept. 11 on a misdemeanor family violence charge. According to a sheriff's office report released Monday, the woman Ronquillo-Ovalle went to her children's elementary school to call 911 because Alvarez took away her cellphone and removed the battery. She told a deputy that she was on the phone talking to her sister when Alvarez entered the room and pushed her.

Alvarez was charged with family violence assault, a misdemeanor. He pleaded no contest, paid a $367 fine and was released after spending two days in jail, records show.

No divorce filings or requests for a restraining order were filed, and Ronquillo-Ovalle did not ask for a protective order, according to records.

CORSICANA, Texas (AP) — In a Sept. 23 story about the deaths of a Texas couple and their three children, The Associated Press erroneously reported the age of one of the children. Their ages were 4, 8 and 10, not 4, 8 and 12.